National unification ideologies developed on the principle of a common language for the southern Slavs. One of the contentious issues was whether it should be led by Serbs or Croats. The question of the inclusion of the Slovenes also remained to be solved.

At a time of national awakening, the idea arose in scholastic circles of combining the numerous Slavic dialects into a shared official language. The long-term aim was the creation of a southern Slav nation, given the antique-sounding name ‘Illyric’. It was hoped that cultural and confessional differences could be overcome, even though the historical and cultural development of the southern Slav peoples had been very different.

The idea of Illyrism, discussed hitherto only in academic circles, was given a political basis through the reorganization of Europe by Napoleon. Ignoring historical boundaries, he combined Carniola, Gorica, Trieste, parts of Carinthia and Croatia into a single unity known as the Illyrian Provinces.

Although this Napoleonic territory was short-lived – the Illyrian Provinces existed only from 1809 to 1813 – the idea remained latent. The Illyrian idea saw the Croats as the leading element, as they already had a history as a state. The imagined ‘greater Croatia’, now called the Kingdom of Illyria, would include not only Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia but also Bosnia, Istria and the Slovenian territories, the Slovenes being known in Croat as ‘mountain Croats’. The creation of Illyria within the federalist Habsburg Monarchy was one of the main demands of the Croats in 1848. After the defeat of the revolution, this demand remained wishful thinking.

From the mid-nineteenth century the idea of Yugoslavism also developed, its long-term aim being the amalgamation of the various ‘branches of the southern Slav nation’. The notion first took root at the cultural level. In 1850 the Vienna Agreement between Croat, Serb and Slovene intellectuals was adopted as a declaration of intent to harmonize the southern Slavic languages and form a standard Serbo-Croat language.

The Croat leadership of the southern Slavs shifted increasingly in favour of the Serbs. This was due to the new assurance of Serbia, which had in 1878 gained independence from the Ottoman Empire to become an important regional power in the western Balkans. The Serbian version of Yugoslavism was interpreted thereafter increasingly in the form of a ‘greater Serbia’.

The rivalry between Croats and Serbs stymied the unification process. Cultural differences became apparent. Catholicism was the identifying characteristic of the conservative Slovene and Croat nationalists, which clashed with the Christian orthodox traditions of the Serbs. Yugoslavism did not experience a renaissance until around 1900, when a new generation took over the reins. Young, free-thinking liberal groups no longer saw religion as an obstacle. The new ‘populist’ nationalism was also more radical, and militant extremism was widespread among students.

In 1905 the Serb and Croat parliamentarians from different parties in both halves of the empire formed a ‘Croat-Serb coalition’. In the interests of finding a way out of the impasse in the southern Slavic position in both Cisleithania and Transleithania, they sought to put aside the old rivalries between Croats and Serbs. As a reaction to the German national centralism in Cisleithania affecting the Slovenes and the uncompromising Magyarization policy affecting the Croats and Serbs, the Yugoslavist idea also attracted more and more supporters among the moderates in the political mainstream in Zagreb and Ljubljana. The idea of complete separation from the increasing constraints of the Habsburg Monarchy matured as Yugoslavism was transformed from a cultural notion to a national unification movement.

Contents related to this chapter

Aspects

The multi-ethnic Austria-Hungary formed a relatively stable environment for the co-existence of the many ethnic communities. The much-vaunted “unity in diversity” was in fact overshadowed by numerous inequalities. This was illustrated above all in the differing weight of the various language groups involved in political and economic rule. These inequalities were increasingly challenged by the disadvantaged nationalities. As a result, the nationality issue dominated political affairs, leading to destabilisation of the Monarchy.

Developments

Nation-building was part of the emancipation by large sections of the population from feudal dependence. In line with the ideals of the Enlightenment and French Revolution, the nation – understood as a community of free citizens – was to become the sovereign in place of feudal potentates.

We employ strictly necessary and analysis cookies. Analysis cookies are used only with your consent and exclusively for statistical purposes. Details on the individual cookies can be found under “Cookie settings”. You can also find further information in our data protection declaration.

Cookie settings

Here you can view or change the cookie settings used on this domain.

Strictly necessary cookies

Strictly necessary cookies

Cookies are a technical feature necessary for the basic functions of the website. You can block or delete these cookies in your browser settings, but in doing so you risk the danger of preventing several parts of the website from functioning properly. The information contained in the cookies is not used to identify you personally. These cookies are never used for purposes other than specified here.

Name

Description

Expiration

Type

Analysis cookies

Analysis cookies

We employ analysis cookies to continually improve and update our websites and services for you. The following analysis cookies are used only with your consent.